NVAR is one of the few local Realtor® associations in the country that has its own Professional Standards Department to review and enforce violations of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics. The Grievance Committee and Professional Standards Committee are composed of approximately 60 Realtors® who volunteer to meet multiple times a month to consider 70–100 ethics and arbitration complaints a year, with the goal of ensuring NVAR members are held to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in the region.

Curious what types of complaints are filed most often? Here are our top four categories:

1. Unauthorized Access and SentriLock Violations

This category appears in over a quarter of ethics complaints throughout the year and is most likely to result in hefty fines for Realtors® found in violation. Actions such as passing a key onto the next agent on a showing schedule without returning it to the lockbox, bringing an inspector to a showing without obtaining permission from the listing agent, or arriving late to a showing may seem harmless in the moment, but could lead to serious risks for you and your clients. What if the person you’re passing the key to isn’t really a licensed real estate agent? What if you run to your car to grab your phone during a showing and your Buyer steals a necklace from the Seller’s home? Most commonly seen at NVAR, what if you arrive too early to a showing without notifying the listing agent and the Seller’s family is home eating dinner or a minor is home alone?

Recently, NVAR received a complaint where a Realtor® representing a Buyer was unable to attend a showing for a property their Buyer desperately wanted to see. Without notifying the listing agent, the Buyer’s agent sent their transaction coordinator to attend the showing with the Buyer, believing it would be no issue because the property was vacant. However, it was a costly mistake: the Buyer’s agent was fined for violations of Article 3, Standard of Procedure 3-9 of the Code of Ethics and SentriLock Rules and Regulations, which could have been avoided had they rescheduled the showing or informed the listing agent of the change.

Protect yourself, your clients, and your reputation by ensuring you are using the latest version of the SentriLock lockbox on your properties and SentriKey app on your phone, so that you are aware of who is entering your listings and when. When representing a Buyer, always communicate with the listing agent if you need to make changes to your showings.

Finally, remember to use the SentriLock “Access by Appointment” feature in SentriKey to restrict access ONLY to approved agents with an appointment. For more resources, please see “What are some best practices to safely and ethically access property?” and “Key Passing: Collegiality or a Security Risk?” More videos can be found here: The Source March 2024.

2. Going Behind the Sign

Cases where a Realtor® “goes behind the sign” — meaning they violate Article 16 by disrupting another Realtor's® exclusive client relationship — are highly likely to be referred to a hearing.

For Article 16, NVAR most commonly sees complaints where Realtors® did not properly screen their third-party-provided lists of cancelled or withdrawn listings, leading to situations where they contacted clients that were already represented by another Realtor®, or where Realtors® continued to send texts to prospective customers to solicit their business even after that customer or their agent tells them to stop. Remember always to verify whether a customer is represented by an agent before contacting them. If they are represented, you are prohibited from coaching them into cancelling their brokerage agreement with their agent, but you may discuss entering into an agreement with them to go into effect after their current one expires.

In a recent case at NVAR, a Seller, who was already represented by a listing agent, contacted the Buyer’s agent to respond to the Buyer’s offer on the Seller’s property. Article 16, Standard of Practice 16 -13 prohibits Realtors® from carrying on dealings regarding a listed property with a client who is exclusively represented by another Realtor®, except when such dealings are initiated by the client directly. Knowing this, the Buyer’s agent believed they were free to continue negotiating the terms of the offer with the Seller. The Hearing Panel found that while the initial contact from the Seller was not a violation of Article 16, the Buyer’s agent’s continuous communications interfered with the listing agent’s exclusive representation of the Seller. The Buyer’s agent was fined and was ordered to take additional classes at NVAR, and the classes did not count towards their CE requirements.

For more information on Article 16, please see “The Realtor® Code of Ethics in Action: Article 16 and Going Behind the Sign.”

3. Misleading and Outdated Advertising

Advertising and marketing are activities which can make up a lot of Realtor® responsibilities — and create a majority of NVAR ethics complaints. Article 12 of the Code of Ethics requires  Realtors® to present a true picture in their advertising, so actions such as using the previous agent’s photos in a listing, failing to disclose one’s status as a Realtor® when they have ownership interest in an advertised property, or conveying that one is the “Best  Realtor® in Virginia!” without actually having that credential may subject the  Realtor® to significant fines both with NVAR and the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR).

Sometimes NVAR sees situations where agents “doctor up” their listing photos to make properties seem a bit nicer than they are. While it is unlikely for the Grievance Committee to find it misleading if you’ve improved the lighting or shadows in a listing photo to make the colors in the kitchen pop, you may be crossing the line if you’ve edited a fire into a photo of a broken fireplace — misleading consumers into believing that this fireplace actually works. In a recent case, an agent hoping to solicit Buyers made a showing request at an attractive local property. While touring, the agent made a video to advertise the lovely features of the home and to discuss the publicly available information of the listing. Upon review of this complaint, multiple violations were found against this agent, including unauthorized access to film a video during a showing without the Seller or listing agent’s permission, and for failing to clarify that the agent was not actually representing anyone for the sale of this home, which was found to be a deceptive advertising practice. According to the NVAR Citation System, this agent was fined.

Remember always to have your advertising reviewed by your Broker, as required by DPOR, and to keep all marketing information about yourself and your business up to date. When it comes to advertising, there are no shortcuts! Please see  “Advertising FAQ” and “Code Comprehension: Article 12 — Display of Competitor's Listings on Social Media Websites” for more information.

4. Disclosures — What’s a “Pertinent Fact” Anyway?

Disclosures are included in some of the most common questions received by the NVAR Legal Hotline and are a crucial part of many ethics complaints. Realtors® must abide by the disclosure requirements of federal law, Virginia law, and Articles 2, 4, 5, and 7 of the Code of Ethics. Not only must Realtors® disclose whether they’re receiving compensation from more than one party, if they have any ownership interest in a transaction, or if they receive any sort of financial benefit from a service they’re recommending, but they must also disclose any “pertinent facts” regarding a property or transaction which are “reasonably apparent” to someone with real estate expertise.

The Grievance and Professional Standards Committees are tasked with determining whether something is a pertinent fact which requires disclosure — and this can vary depending on the particulars of the situation. In a recent case, the county contacted the Seller and listing agent to inform them of a Notice of Violation due to an unpermitted room for a property which was listed for a sale. The listing agent informed the Buyers of the Notice of Violation, but did not reveal the scope of the permitting issue because they believed their real estate expertise did not extend to zoning matters. Additionally, the listing agent maintained contact with the county throughout the course of the transaction to try to assist the Seller with obtaining a permit for the extra room. Thus, in this case, the Hearing Panel found that the listing agent had actual knowledge of the extent of the permitting issue and should have disclosed this pertinent fact to the Buyers. Ultimately, the listing agent was fined and sanctioned.

When debating whether something is a pertinent fact, ask yourself: Would this affect a reasonable Buyer’s decision to buy the property or the original sales price? Has this prospective Buyer indicated this issue is important to them, specifically? If you’re not sure, talk to your Broker and to your client as to whether a fact is pertinent, and discuss the pros and cons of disclosure. For more information, please see “Virginia Disclosure Rules FAQ” and “Part 4, Appendix II — Appropriate Interpretation of “Pertinent Facts” as Used in Article 2 of the Code of Ethics.”

NVAR releases this information so that our members are better informed about professionalism in the region and for the public to understand the high standards of the Realtor® brand. For more information on how to resolve potential ethical issues, please see “Handle Realtor- Disputes.”